April 24, 2022, Algarve Raceway, Portimão, Portugal.
——No. 99 Carlos Tatay steadily led the second group, and won 10 points for the team in the 6th finish
——No. 43 Xavier Artigas suffered a serious fall in the warm-up race. The team quickly repaired it and helped it complete the race successfully
——CFMOTO Racing PrustelGP team received 10 points and continued to sit firmly in the fourth place in the team standings
MotoGP in the 2022 season has finally returned to the main battlefield of Europe, which also means more back-to-back schedules, shorter transition distances, and more audiences... The racing season familiar to European fans will soon start from the Iberian Peninsula with two rounds of profound heritage. However, before heading to the famous Jerez track, the team and drivers need to undergo the trial of the thrilling Algarve International Circuit in Portimão, southern Portugal.
It is no exaggeration to say that the trial is not an exaggeration - although this is the 17th Portuguese Grand Prix of MotoGP, it is only the fourth time held at the Algarve International Circuit. Therefore, this 4.6-kilometer long track with 15 corners, a one-kilometer straight and repeated ups and downs is relatively unfamiliar to most teams, drivers and the technical data they rely on to adjust the racing.
And Portimão was in storm throughout the competition weekend. Could it be that they also have "late spring cold"? Anyway, the track temperature was less than 20 degrees, but the wind was more than 20 kilometers per hour. The practice competition was once due to the strong wind blowing the billboard onto the track and the red flag was paused. It can be imagined that under such conditions, falling off a car has become commonplace. During Friday's practice race, Carlos Tatay, the No. 99 driver of CFMOTO Racing, performed steadily and went straight to Q2 of the qualifying race again.
The next day, in addition to dealing with the ever-changing road adhesion, the drivers also frequently get disturbed by the yellow flag of the track to their flight circles - CFMOTO Racing's other driver No. 43 Xavier Artigas appeared first in the qualifying round Q1, but failed to refresh the fastest lap speed at the last moment. Unfortunately, he only got the 19th starting space. Then, No. 99 driver Carlos Tatay withstood Huangqi's repeated interruptions in the last few laps of the qualifying race, and ran 4th in the last flight lap.
On Sunday, the weather in Portimão finally cleared, the track temperature rose to 25 degrees Celsius, and the wind power also decreased, but the team was also required to quickly switch from the wetland adjustment of the previous two days to dry adjustment. After the race began, Carlos Tatay, who started the second row, challenged the front row drivers, and the battle was once stalemate. After the game entered the middle, Carlos Tatay stabilized the pace and led the second group, and began to speed up with 7 laps left in the game, and the gap with the first group was close from 6 seconds to 3.2 seconds. In the end, Carlos Tatay finished the race in 6th place and received another 10 points for the team.
Xavier Artigas suffered a serious crash in the warm-up race before the main race, but fortunately he was fine. The team's technicians also repaired the car in the shortest time, so that he could complete the race smoothly and finally ranked 20th.
Xavier Artigas said after the game: "The main competition is not as good as I wish. I am stuck in the big team and can't overtake. It's a pity, but we will have a chance to do better next weekend. I'm really looking forward to Jerrez, especially after this difficult and unsatisfactory weekend."
Carlos Tatay said: "Overall, it was a good race weekend because I was able to stay competitive under various circumstances, including wetlands. The not-good enough is that today the team transferred me a very good car and had the chance to compete for the championship, but I made a mistake in the early stage of the race and let the No. 1 Leading Group run away. It was difficult to catch up, but the car and I were in good shape in the later stage of the race, so there was no regret.Let it pass like this, focus on the present: return to Spain, train hard, and head towards Jerrez. ”
After this game, CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP team continued to firmly sit in the fourth place in the team's standings with 68 points, with two drivers Carlos Tatay and Xavier Artigas ranked 8th and 12th in the rankings of the drivers.
Next weekend, MotoGP will go to the Jerez Racing, a racing "major town" in southern Spain, which has nearly 40 years of racing history. The teams test the number of laps here every year. If nothing unexpected happens, next week will be the Spanish fans who have a "festival" atmosphere again after 2019. In addition, for the two Spanish drivers of CFMOTO Racing, Xavier Artigas and Carlos Tatay said that it is the home court of teenagers, let’s look forward to their performance together!
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